International Paper announced Thursday it will permanently close its box plant in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, Texas, as part of the company’s ongoing string of shutdowns impacting thousands of employees.
The facility is scheduled to close by the end of the third quarter, according to the company. Nearly all of the 45 hourly and 19 salaried employees will be affected, and they’re eligible to apply for posted jobs at another IP facilities, said Amy Simpson, IP’s head of communications for North America, via email. The company intends to assist affected employees will severance, benefits and outplacement support.
Customers will be serviced by other IP facilities in the region, according to a news release. IP has another box plant about 2.5 miles away that produces similar products to the South Carrollton site. It also has a recycling center about 1.5 miles away. The South Carrollton box plant closure will not affect the recycling center, Simpson said.
This shutdown is part of IP's “ongoing work to align its manufacturing footprint with customer demand and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of its North America packaging business,” the news release said.
When Andy Silvernail became CEO two years ago, he introduced an optimization strategy to turn around the company’s results and operations. That has involved a plethora of global facility closures and layoffs.
Including this new announcement, more than 5,864 employees have been affected by IP’s closures since October 2024. The company's most recent announcement came less than three weeks ago, for four closures across the United States slated to occur by the end of Q3. In total, 330 employees will be affected.
In January, executives said they expect to close at least seven facilities and cut 700 jobs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company also filed a notice that month with the state of Washington about closing a facility in Union Gap with 102 employees. In February, IP announced it would close a container plant in Georgetown, South Carolina, affecting 126 employees. And during an April earnings call, executives said they were considering additional cuts in EMEA ahead of the company’s planned split into two companies next year.
In addition, IP disclosed on July 9 that it would temporarily suspend operations at its containerboard mill in Pine Hill, Alabama, due to rain damage to the roof. The company aims to resume operations in August.
International Paper executives have discussed geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions that have challenged the business during the last several quarters, prompting them in April to lower guidance for the year. Still, the packaging firm brought in $5.97 billion in revenue last quarter, up 13.4% compared with Q1 2025. IP next reports earnings on July 30.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information from International Paper.
